Collection of crash data using autonomous or semi-autonomous drones

ABSTRACT

A method for collecting drone data at a crash site using an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone may include determining or receiving a crash GPS location associated with a crash location of a crash scene, and may further include generating a pre-generated flight path for an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPS location. The autonomous or semi-autonomous drone may be mounted, or held securely in place, on an emergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location. The method may further include autonomously or semi-autonomously flying the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone in accordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash GPS location to generate or collect drone data associated with the crash scene. The drone data may be used for one or more insurance-related purposes, such as handling, adjusting, or generating auto or homeowners insurance claims; crash reconstruction; fault determination; damaged vehicle repair; and/or buildup identification.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit ofpriority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/085,605, filed Oct. 30,2020, which is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/989,433, filed Jan. 6, 2016, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 10,832,330 on Nov. 10, 2020, which claims the benefitof priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/180,830,filed Jun. 17, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/250,178, filed Nov. 3, 2015, the entire contents and disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to collecting data using unmanned aerialvehicles (UAV) and, more particularly, to systems and methods for usingUAVs for collecting vehicle crash data and transmitting the vehiclecrash data to a remote computing system for storage and analysis.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle crashes occur on a daily basis in the United States andthroughout the world. Vehicle crashes may involve one or more vehiclesand may include collisions with other vehicles, collisions with otherproperty, or collisions with people. Such vehicle crashes may result indamage to the vehicle, other property, or, in some cases, injury or lossof life to a person. When vehicle crashes occur, emergency responseservices such as law enforcement, firefighting services, and emergencymedical services (EMS) may be called to the vehicle crash site to assistvictims of the vehicle crash, manage traffic, remove debris, and provideother emergency response services. The emergency response services mayalter the vehicle crash site (e.g., move vehicles involved in the crash)to assist the victims or to manage traffic. Accordingly, after suchemergency services are provided, vehicle crash data (i.e., the locationof the vehicles, type of vehicles, and other information regarding thevehicle crash) may not be representative of the actual vehicle crash.

After the emergency response services have been provided, lawenforcement may then have to recreate the vehicle crash site to gatherthe actual vehicle crash data. However, the vehicle crash site may notbe reproducible because some of the vehicles may have been moved and/orsome of the vehicles may be total loss vehicles, where the damage to thevehicle is deemed unrepairable (e.g., a vehicle with substantial firedamage), and may lead to inaccurate vehicle crash data.

Recreating the crash scene after emergency response services have beenprovided may also add to the time necessary to process insurance claimsassociated with the vehicles involved in the crash. Because the crashscene is altered, assessment of the vehicle crash data by the insurancecompanies may require more time for processing the insurance claims.Delaying insurance claims processing may increase the costs associatedwith a vehicle crash for an insurance provider. For example, delays inprocessing an insurance claim for a vehicle may increase the costs forthe insurance provider in providing a temporary rental car to a policyholder while the damaged vehicle is being repaired or replaced as rentalcar fees may be incurred for a longer duration.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present embodiments may relate to systems and methods for collectingand processing vehicle crash data from a vehicle crash site of a vehiclecrash with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone,including at least one sensor. Preferably, the UAV may be autonomouslyor semi-autonomously controlled. The sensor may include, for example, acamera, a thermal camera, a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor orunit, a range sensor, and an audio sensor. The UAV may be automaticallydeployed from an emergency response vehicle to collect the vehicle crashdata with the at least one sensor. The UAV may transmit the vehiclecrash data to a remote computing device and/or an insurance computingdevice to be processed. In some embodiments, the remote computing devicemay store the vehicle crash data and detect if the vehicle crash dataincludes a vehicle identifier. The remote computing device may thendetermine a first insurance provider is associated with a first vehicleof the vehicle crash based, at least in part, on the vehicle identifier.In other embodiments, the insurance computing device may process thevehicle crash data instead of the remote computing device. The insurancecomputing device may be configured to initiate a crash insurance claimbased upon the vehicle crash data. For example, the insurance computingdevice may automatically populate an insurance claim form based, atleast in part, on the vehicle crash data.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of collecting autonomous,semi-autonomous and/or other drone data for insurance-related purposesmay be provided. The method may include determining or receiving, viaone or more processors, a crash GPS location associated with a crashlocation of a crash scene, the crash GPS location associated with aninsurance-related event occurring at the crash scene. The method mayfurther include generating, at the one or more processors, apre-generated flight path for an autonomous or semi-autonomous dronebased upon the crash GPS location. The autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone may be mounted, or held securely in place, on an emergencyresponse vehicle traveling to the crash location. The method may furtherinclude, once the emergency response vehicle arrives at the crash scene,autonomously or semi-autonomously flying the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone in accordance with the pre-generated flight pathat the crash GPS location to generate or collect drone data associatedwith the crash scene. The method may further include determining, viathe one or more processors, an extent of vehicle or building damagecaused by the insurance-related event from computer analysis of thedrone data collected while the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone isflying the pre-generated flight path. The method may further includeusing, via the one or more processors, the extent of vehicle or buildingdamage determined from computer analysis of the drone data to facilitatemitigating further damage or for further insurance-related purposes. Themethod may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of collectingautonomous, semi-autonomous and/or other drone data forinsurance-related purposes may be provided. The method may includedetermining or receiving, via one or more processors, a crash GPSlocation associated with a crash location of a crash scene. The crashGPS location may be associated with an insurance-related event occurringat the crash scene. The method may further include generating, at theone or more processors, a pre-generated flight path for an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPS location, including alength and/or width of the crash scene, or a radius around the crash GPSlocation. The autonomous or semi-autonomous drone may be mounted, orheld securely in place, on an emergency response vehicle traveling tothe crash location. The method may further include, once the emergencyresponse vehicle arrives at the crash scene, autonomously orsemi-autonomously flying, under the direction and control of the one ormore processors, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone in accordancewith the pre-generated flight path at the crash GPS location to collectdrone data associated with the crash scene to facilitate using the dronedata for insurance-related activity. The method may include additional,less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method of collectingautonomous or semi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposesmay be provided. The method may include determining or receiving, viaone or more processors mounted on an autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone, a GPS crash location associated with an insurance-related eventoccurring at a crash scene. The method may further include generating,at the one or more processors mounted on the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, a pre-generated flight path for the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone based upon the GPS crash location. The autonomousor semi-autonomous drone may be mounted, or held securely in place, onan emergency response vehicle traveling to the GPS crash location. Themethod may further include, once the emergency response vehicle arrivesat the crash scene, autonomously or semi-autonomously flying, under thedirection and control of the one or more processors mounted on theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone, the autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone in accordance with the pre-generated flight path at the GPS crashlocation to collect drone data associated with the crash scene tofacilitate using the drone data for insurance-related activity. Themethod may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The Figures described below depict various aspects of the systems andmethods disclosed therein. It should be understood that each Figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed systemsand methods, and that each of the Figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingFigures, in which features depicted in multiple Figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodimentsare not limited to the precise arrangements and are instrumentalitiesshown, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary vehicle crash data collection system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary emergency response unit having anunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (such as autonomous or semi-autonomousUAV) that is part of a vehicle crash data collection system, such as thesystem shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary vehicle crash scene and an emergencyresponse unit gathering vehicle crash data for use by a vehicle crashdata collection system, such as the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary vehicle crash data flow of the vehiclecrash data collection system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method forcollecting data at a vehicle crash site, where the exemplary method maybe implemented by a vehicle crash data collection system, such as thesystem shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method forprocessing vehicle crash data collected at a vehicle crash site, wherethe exemplary method may be implemented by a vehicle crash datacollection system, such as the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method forinitiating an insurance claim process with vehicle crash data collectedfrom a vehicle crash site, where the exemplary method may be implementedby a vehicle crash data collection system, such as the system shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary server computer device that may be usedin a vehicle crash collection system, such as the system shown in FIG.1.

The Figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesof the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, systems and methodsfor using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as autonomous orsemi-autonomous UAVs, to collect vehicle crash data at a vehicle crashsite, and transmit the vehicle crash data to a remote computing devicefor storage and processing. As used herein, a UAV is sometimes alsoreferred to as a “drone.” At a vehicle crash site involving one or morevehicles, an emergency response unit may arrive at the vehicle crashsite to provide emergency response services, such as firefighting, lawenforcement, and emergency medical services (EMS). The emergencyresponse unit may include, but is not limited to, a firefightingvehicle, an ambulance, a law enforcement vehicle, and/or any other unitrelated to an emergency response service. As used herein, a “vehiclecrash site” refers to the location of a vehicle crash and anysurrounding area and/or objects relevant to the vehicle crash.

In the exemplary embodiment, the emergency response unit may beconfigured to automatically deploy a primary UAV (such as an autonomousor semi-autonomous UAV) with at least one sensor at the vehicle crashsite. The UAV may be configured for autonomous aerial deployment, suchthat the UAV may fly over the vehicle crash site and gather vehiclecrash data under the direction or control of a processor or processors.The UAV sensor may include, for example, a camera, a video recorder, athermal camera, a range sensor, a Global Positioning System (GPS),and/or an audio sensor. The UAV may automatically collect vehicle crashdata while the emergency response unit assists any victims of thevehicle crash and manages the vehicle crash site. As used herein,“vehicle crash data” refers to data relating to the vehicle crash, thevictims of the vehicle crash, and/or the vehicle crash site. Vehiclecrash data may include, but is not limited to, time data (i.e., atimestamp), image data, video data, thermal data, GPS data, range data(i.e., data regarding the distance between a plurality of objects),audio data, and/or any other data that the UAV may be configured tocapture.

In the exemplary embodiment, the UAV may be in communication with theemergency response unit or with a remote emergency response location toprovide the vehicle crash data, which may include the location ofvictims and hazardous materials. Additionally, the UAV may scan for avehicle identifier, such as a license plate number and/or license plateissuing State, a vehicle identification number (VIN), or any otheridentifier to determine the owner of the vehicle (and/or auto insuranceprovider for the vehicle). The UAV may be configured to store thevehicle crash data for transmission, and a transceiver for transmittingthe vehicle crash data via wireless communication or data transmission.

The UAV may transmit the vehicle crash data to a remote computing devicehaving a processor and a memory to be stored. The remote computingdevice may be in communication with the emergency response unit, atleast one insurance provider via an insurance computing device, a userdevice (such as a mobile device) associated with the owner or insured ofthe corresponding vehicle, and an administration computing devicedescribed below. An insurance provider may include an insurance carrieror a third party related to the insurance carrier associated with thevehicle in question, a person, and/or other property involved in thecrash.

The remote computing device may determine if the received vehicle crashdata includes any vehicle identifiers. If the vehicle crash dataincludes vehicle identifiers, the remote computing device may (i)identify the vehicle owners and/or the associated insurance providersby, for example, comparing the vehicle identifiers to a lookup table,(ii) transmit a notification with the vehicle identifiers to at least aportion of the insurance computing devices, and/or (iii) transmit thevehicle identifiers to a third party remote computing device.

After identifying the associated insurance providers, the remotecomputing device may send the vehicle crash data to the insurancecomputing devices of the associated insurance providers for insuranceclaims processing. If the vehicle crash data does not include vehicleidentifiers, the remote computing device may store the vehicle crashdata. The associated insurance providers may send them a request withsearch information, such as time, date, and/or location of the crash tothe remote computing device for the vehicle crash data when the insuredfiles a claim with the insurance provider. If the remote computingdevice identifies the vehicle crash data based upon the searchinformation, the remote computing device may transmit the vehicle crashdata to the associated insurance providers.

The administration computing device may be a third party computingdevice in communication with the remote computing device to transmitand/or receive vehicle crash data and additional crash information. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the administration computing device may beimplemented by an emergency response service provider (e.g., lawenforcement). Additionally or alternatively, the administrationcomputing device may be implemented by a third party, such as agovernment organization or other parties that may benefit from thevehicle crash data. The additional crash information may include driverand/or passenger information (e.g., name, address, driving history,medical information, identification photo, etc.), freight information(e.g., hazardous materials), and/or other data relevant to the vehiclecrash. The remote computing device may send the additional crashinformation to the associated insurance providers.

The administration computing device may be associated with variousentities, such as fire departments, police departments, hospitals orambulances, or other first responders. The drone and/or other datacollected may relate to, or be indicative of, response times to avehicle crash, house fire, or other event/emergency; number of unitsresponding; and/or indicative of which types of units responded, or howthose units responded. The drone and/or other data collected may be usedfor post-event or post-crash review and to provide some quantitativeinformation (times, etc.) for first responder training. For instance,EMS leads (e.g., fire chief, police chief, etc.) may use the droneand/or other data collected for post-event review for their staffs toassess performance, review the adequacy of the response to an event,apply or improve upon best practices, etc. In some embodiments, thedrone and/or other data collected may be used for performanceevaluation, and also used for overall training and during reviewperiods.

The associated insurance providers may use the vehicle crash data andthe additional crash information provided by the administrationcomputing device to process insurance claims. In the exemplaryembodiment, computing devices associated with the insurance providersmay receive the vehicle crash data and/or may automatically populate aninsurance claim form (such as a virtual insurance claim form or webpage)within the insurance provider computing device. By so doing, the timefor processing such insurance claims may be significantly reduced.Additionally, the associated insurance carriers may determine if avehicle is a ‘total loss’ (i.e., the vehicle is not repairable) usingthe vehicle crash data.

In an additional embodiment, the emergency response unit may beconfigured to automatically deploy several secondary UAV or drones (suchas autonomous or semi-autonomous drones) with at least one sensor at thevehicle crash site. The secondary drones may be configured forautonomous aerial deployment, such that as the primary UAV flies overthe vehicle crash site and gathers vehicle crash data, the secondarydrones may be deployed by, or from, the emergency response unit. Each ofthe secondary drones may include for example, processors, memory, acamera, a video recorder, a thermal camera, a range sensor, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS), and/or an audio sensor. The secondary dronesmay be automatically, or otherwise, directed downstream of an vehiclecrash or other emergency scene to intercept vehicles that have not yetmade it to the vehicle crash (or other emergency scene) location inorder to warn those vehicles and drivers to slow down, stop, orreroute—potentially preventing additional vehicle crashes as trafficbacks up. For instance, the secondary or backup drones may travel down aroad and hover a predetermined distance from the scene of theevent/emergency—such as a half mile or a mile, or at an intersection orexit ramp to divert traffic to an alternate route. The secondary dronesmay generate warnings to drivers of the event/emergency, such asflashing lights or with luminescent banners.

Data collected by the autonomous or semi-autonomous secondary drones maybe transmitted to the emergency response unit, third party computingdevices, insurance provider servers, and/or other computing devices,including those discussed herein. The secondary drone data may betransmitted via wireless communication or data transmission—either via adedicated data stream or broadcast, or after being combined with droneand/or other data (such as the drone data collected by the primary UAVmentioned above).

At least one of the technical problems addressed by this system mayinclude: (i) conventional collection of inaccurate vehicle crash data;(ii) limited vehicle crash data may be typically collected after avehicle crash site is altered; (iii) conventionally, only limitedinformation may be provided for, and/or by, an emergency responseservice at the vehicle crash site; (iv) road restrictions during a crashresponse may impeded conventional emergency response; and/or (v)conventional techniques may result in delayed insurance claimsprocessing.

A technical effect of the systems and processes described herein may beachieved by performing at least one of the following steps: (a)deploying, at a vehicle crash site, a UAV having at least one sensor,wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one of a camera, avideo camera, a thermal camera, a GPS, a range sensor, and an audiosensor from an emergency response unit, wherein the UAV is programmed tonavigate a vehicle crash site and operate the at least one sensor; (b)collecting “vehicle crash data” from the vehicle crash site with theUAV, wherein the vehicle crash data includes at least one of time data,image or video data, thermal data, location data (e.g., GPS data orrange data), and audio data; (c) transmitting the vehicle crash data toan emergency response service (and/or insurance provider remote server);(d) transmitting the vehicle crash data to an remote computing devicefor storage (and/or analysis, further transmission, and/or subsequentcomputer access); (e) identifying an insurance provider such as aninsurance carrier, a policy holder, or a third party related toinsurance associated with a vehicle at the vehicle crash site (or via aremote processor or server); and/or (f) transmitting the vehicle crashdata to an insurance computing device of the insurance provider.

The resulting technical effect achieved by this system may be thatvehicle crash data collection of a vehicle crash site may be performedbefore the vehicle crash site is altered by emergency response services.In addition, the vehicle crash data may be accessible by emergencyresponse service providers and/or insurance providers to facilitate aresponse to the vehicle crash (e.g., an emergency response service maylocate the number of cars involved in crash using the vehicle crashdata, and/or an insurance carrier may pre-populate a virtual insuranceclaim (for insured subsequent review, medication, and/or approval) formusing the vehicle crash data). The vehicle crash data may be received byan insurance provider computing device and/or automatically populatesinsurance claim forms such that insurance claim forms associated withthe crash may be quickly and efficiently prepared.

As used herein, vehicle crash site refers to the location of the vehiclecrash and any surrounding area relevant to the vehicle crash. Thevehicle crash site may be defined by any radial distance from thevehicle crash such as, for example, 50 meters, 75 meters, 100 meters,200 meters, or more. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle crashsite may be defined by a plurality of regions of interest (ROI), such asa victim ejected from a vehicle and/or debris affecting traffic (ordebris field). In some embodiments, the vehicle crash site may bepre-defined. In other embodiments, the vehicle crash site may be definedby the vehicle crash. The above examples are example only, and are thusnot intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of theterm “vehicle crash site.”

As used herein, vehicle crash data refers to any data collected at avehicle crash site. Vehicle crash data may include, for example, timedata (i.e., a timestamp), image data, video data, thermal data,dimensional data, position data, and/or other types of data to quantifya vehicle crash. In addition, vehicle crash data may include patternrecognition data for identifying information from the collected data atthe vehicle crash site, such as brand/model of vehicle, license platenumbers and/or States, the number of cars involved, the number ofpersons involved, the number of persons injured, the severity of vehicledamage (and/or whether a “total loss” condition exists), and/orhazardous materials (HAZMAT). Vehicle crash data may further includemetadata, such as the types of data included in the vehicle crash dataand the size of each type of data. The above examples are example only,and are thus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/ormeaning of the term “vehicle crash data.”

I. Exemplary Vehicle Crash Data Collection System

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary vehicle crash data collection system 100.System 100 may include an emergency response unit 104, a UAV 106, aremote computing device 116, at least one insurance computing device124, a user device 125, and/or an administration computing device 126.System 100 may collect, store, and transmit vehicle crash data from avehicle crash site (not shown in FIG. 1) to facilitate a response to avehicle crash (not shown in FIG. 1). The system 100 may includeadditional, fewer, or alternate components, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

Emergency response unit 104 may include an emergency response vehicleoperated by an emergency service provider such as, but not limited to,law enforcement, firefighting service providers, medical serviceproviders, and/or government organizations. In some embodiments,emergency response unit 104 may be any kind of land, nautical, oraeronautical vehicle. Emergency response unit 104 may arrive at thevehicle crash site to provide emergency services, manage the vehiclecrash, and/or collect vehicle crash data (and/or stored and/ortransmit/relay the vehicle crash data collected). In the exemplaryembodiment, UAV 106 may be coupled to emergency response vehicle 104.

UAV 106 may include at least one processor 108 for executinginstructions, a memory area 110, a communication module 112, and/or atleast one sensor 114. Processor 108 may include one or more processingunits (e.g., a multi-core configuration). Processor 108 may becommunicatively coupled to memory area 110, communication module 112,and/or sensors 114. Memory area 110 may be any device allowinginformation, such as executable instructions and/or vehicle crash datato be stored and retrieved. Memory area 110 may include one or morecomputer-readable media. Communication module 112 may be configured totransmit and receive data with other devices such as, but not limitedto, remote computing device 116 and/or administration computing device126. In some embodiments, communication module 112 may becommunicatively coupled to a remote device (not shown) to permit anoperator (not shown) to control UAV 106 as described further below. Theremote device may be located at the vehicle crash site or a remotelocation.

Sensors 114 may be configured to collect vehicle crash data. Sensors 114may include any type of sensor such as a camera, a video recorder, athermal camera, a range sensor, a GPS unit, an audio recorder, and/orsensors. In the exemplary embodiment, processor 108 may control theoperation of sensors 114. In other embodiments, sensors 114 may includea processor and memory area (not shown) to capture and process vehiclecrash data autonomous of processor 108. Each sensor 114 may be operatedindependently or dependently of other sensors 114. For example, in someembodiments in which sensors 114 may include a GPS unit and anothersensor, the GPS unit may be configured to capture GPS data concurrentlywith the other sensor. Sensors 114 may include user-defined settings tocontrol the operation of sensors 114 (e.g., a camera sensor may haveimage resolution and image acquisition rate settings). Sensors 114 maybe the same type of sensor (e.g., two camera sensors) or different typesof sensors. In some embodiments, sensors 114 may send the captured datato processor 108 for data processing (e.g., processing image data toidentify a license plate of a vehicle) as described further below.

UAV 106 may be communicatively coupled to remote computing device 116.Alternatively, system 100 may not include remote computing device 116.Insurance computing devices 124 may be communicatively coupled to UAV106 and/or perform the functions of remote computing device 116, such asdescribed herein. Remote computing device 116 may be associated withand/or maintained by any one of an emergency response service provider,an insurance provider, and/or any other third party. Remote computingdevice 116 may further be communicatively coupled to insurance computingdevices 124, user device 125, and/or administration computing device126. In some embodiments, system 100 may include a plurality ofadministration computing devices 126. Remote computing device 116 may bea server computer device as described herein and may include at leastone processor 118, a memory area 120, and/or a communication module 122.In some embodiments, remote computing device 116 may include a pluralityof computer server devices communicatively coupled to each other. Remotecomputing device 116 may be configured to transmit and/or receive datathat may include, but is not limited to, vehicle crash data from UAV106, search queries from insurance computing devices 124, and/oradditional crash information from administration computing device 126.In the exemplary embodiment, remote computing device 116 may receive thevehicle crash data from UAV 106 and store the vehicle crash data (suchas for subsequent analysis and/or data transmission to additionalcomputing devices).

Remote computing device 116 may be configured to determine if thevehicle crash data includes any vehicle identifiers, such as a licenseplate number when remote computing device 116 receives the vehicle crashdata from UAV 106. Additionally or alternatively, UAV 106, insurancecomputing device 124, and/or administrator device 126 may be configuredto determine if the vehicle crash data includes any vehicle identifiers.In the exemplary embodiment, remote computing device 116 may beconfigured to conduct pattern recognition on image data from the vehiclecrash data to detect a vehicle identifier. For example, remote computingdevice 116 may identify a license plate number of a vehicle in an imageor video of the vehicle crash data. Additionally or alternatively,remote computing device 116 may detect vehicle identifiers using othermethods.

If remote computing device 116 determines the vehicle crash dataincludes a vehicle identifier, remote computing device 116 may search tofind an owner of the vehicle and/or an insurance provider associatedwith the vehicle. Remote computing device 116 may search for the ownerof the vehicle or the associated insurance provider by, for example,comparing the vehicle identifier to a list stored in memory 120,querying insurance computing devices 124 and/or administration computingdevice 126, and/or searching an external source, such as an externaldatabase (not shown). If remote computing device 116 determines thevehicle crash data does not include any vehicle identifiers, remotecomputing device 116 may store the vehicle crash data (and/or transmitthe vehicle crash data to another computer device, processor, or server,such as via wireless communication or data transmission).

Remote computing device 116 may be configured to organize the vehiclecrash data such that the vehicle crash data is searchable by insurancecomputing devices 124 and/or administration computing device 126. Forexample, insurance computing device 124 may send a search queryincluding at least one of, but not limited to, a time, a date, alocation of a vehicle crash, and/or a model of a vehicle (and/or numberof vehicles, and/or severity of vehicle damage of vehicles) involved inthe vehicle crash to remote computing device 116 to identify the vehiclecrash data. In some embodiments, remote computing device 116 may beconfigured to send search results in response to a search query. Thesearch results may include, for example, a portion of relevant vehiclecrash data, metadata associated with relevant vehicle crash data (e.g.,a time and date when the vehicle crash data was uploaded), and a numberof hits, or relevant vehicle crash data (including number of vehiclesinvolved and/or vehicle damage severity), from the search query.

Remote computing device 116 may include selective filters to limit thevehicle crash data viewable by insurance providers and third parties notinvolved with the vehicle crash. In some embodiments, remote computingdevice 116 may include a history log (not shown) to monitor any activityinvolving remote computing device 116 including information such as, forexample, each search or download request, time, and/or identity (e.g., auser name, an Internet Protocol address, a company identifier, etc.) ofthe requester.

Each insurance computing device 124 may be associated with an insuranceprovider. The insurance provider may include an insurance carrier or athird party related to an insurance carrier associated with a vehicle, aperson, and/or other property. In the exemplary embodiment, at least oneinsurance provider may be associated with a vehicle, a person, and/orother property involved in the vehicle crash. In some embodiments, noneof the insurance providers may be associated with the vehicle crash(e.g., the vehicles involved in the crash are uninsured). Insurancecomputing devices 124 may be server computer devices as describedherein, or other computing devices.

In addition, insurance computing devices 124 may include anycommunication means to transmit and receive data with system 100. Eachinsurance computing device 124 may be communicatively coupled to remotecomputing device 116 to determine if any of the vehicle crash datastored in remote computing device 116 involves a vehicle associated with(i.e., insured by) the insurance provider. In other embodiments,insurance computing devices 124 may be communicatively coupled to UAV106 and replace remote computing device 116. Insurance computing devices124 may send search queries and/or download requests to remote computingdevice 116 to retrieve the vehicle crash data. In some embodiments, eachinsurance computing device 124 may communicate with other insurancecomputing devices 124 if the insurance provider of the insurancecomputing device 124 identifies a vehicle from the vehicle crash datathat is associated with another insurance provider. In otherembodiments, the insurance computing device 124 may transmit anotification to the remote computing device 116 to send the vehiclecrash data to the insurance computing device 124 of the other insuranceprovider. In the exemplary embodiment, the insurance provider(s) may usethe vehicle crash data to process an insurance claim such as, but notlimited to, populating an insurance claim form or determining a vehicleis considered a “total loss”.

User device 125 may be associated with an insurance policy holder or avehicle owner. User device 125 may include, for example, a computer, alaptop, a tablet, a smartphone, and/or a kiosk terminal. User device 125may include a mobile device (such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet,phablet, wearable electronics, smart glasses, smart watch or bracelet,PDA (personal digital assistant), pager, or other mobile computingdevice or mobile device configured for RF (radio frequency) wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission). In the exemplary embodiment,user device 125 may be communicatively coupled to remote computingdevice 116 to receive the vehicle crash data. User device 125 may be incommunication with insurance computing devices 124. In some embodiments,user device 125 may interface with remote computing device 116 and/orinsurance computing devices 124 via a software application. User device125 may access the vehicle crash data to initiate a crash insuranceclaim similar to insurance computing devices 124. In some embodiments,user device 125 may have restricted access to the vehicle crash datastored in remote computing device 116. In certain embodiments, remotecomputing device 116 and/or insurance computing devices 124 may sendnotifications regarding the vehicle crash or the crash insurance claimto the policy holder or the vehicle owner via user device 125.

Administration computing device 126 may be implemented an administrativeservice provider such as, but not limited to, law enforcement, an EMSprovider, government service provider, and/or another third partyservice provider, such as an insurance provider. In some embodiments,system 100 may include a plurality of administration computing devices126. Alternatively, administration computing device 126 may beimplemented by a plurality of third parties. Administration computingdevice 126 may include a server computer device as described herein.Administration computing device 126 may further include anycommunication means to transmit and receive data with system 100. Incertain embodiments, administration computing device 126 may becommunicatively coupled to emergency response unit 104 and/or UAV 106 tomanage the vehicle crash site and/or collect (and/or store or transmit)the vehicle crash data.

In some embodiments, administration computing device 126 may requestvehicle crash data from UAV 106. Additionally or alternatively,administration computing device 126 may remotely operate UAV 106 toassist any emergency responders (i.e., emergency response members at thevehicle crash site), and/or collect (and store and/or transmit) thevehicle crash data. Administration computing device 126 may sendadditional crash information such as, but not limited to, vehicleidentifier, victim or vehicle occupant information, vehicle damageseverity data, victim injury severity data, and/or freight information(e.g., HAZMAT, other deliverable goods, etc.) to remote computing device116. In the exemplary embodiment, emergency response service may correctany inconsistencies or errors from the vehicle crash data collected byUAV 106. Administration computing device 126 may also request vehiclecrash data from remote computing device 116. For example, whereadministration computing device 126 is implemented by law enforcement,administration computing device 126 may use the requested vehicle crashdata to populate, or pre-populate portions of, a Police Accident Record.

In at least some embodiments, administration computing device 126 mayrequest the vehicle crash data and/or additional data (e.g., video datacaptured before arriving at the vehicle crash site) from UAV 106 toevaluate performance of emergency response members at the vehicle crashsite. For example, the vehicle crash data may include video data of theemergency response members as the members perform emergency services.Although UAV 106 and the vehicle crash data described herein are used atvehicle crash sites, it is to be understood that UAV 106 may be deployedduring training scenarios or performance evaluations of emergencyresponse members to collect performance data associated with theemergency response members.

For instance, as noted previously, the drone and/or other data collectedmay be analyzed and then used for post-event or post-crash review,event/emergency reconstruction and/or event/emergency responsereconstruction, and may provide some quantitative information (times,etc.) for first responder training. EMS leads may use the drone and/orother data collected, and event/emergency response reconstruction forpost-event review for their staffs to assess performance, review theadequacy of the response to an event, apply or improve upon bestpractices, etc.

II. Exemplary Emergency Response Unit

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary emergency response unit 202 that includes anemergency response vehicle 204 and a UAV 206 coupled to the emergencyresponse vehicle 204. Emergency response unit 202 may be used in avehicle crash data collection system, such as system 100 shown inFIG. 1. Emergency response unit 202 may be similar to emergency responseunit 102 and, in the absence of a contrary representation, the samereference numbers identify the same or similar elements. In theexemplary embodiment, emergency response vehicle 204 may be a fireengine, ambulance, police vehicle, and/or other emergency responsevehicle.

UAV 206 may be removably coupled to the top of emergency responsevehicle 204 such that UAV 206 is secured while traveling and deployableat the vehicle crash site. In other embodiments, UAV 206 may be storedin emergency response vehicle 204. UAV 206 may be configured to deployautomatically or manually by an operator, such as a local or remoteoperator controlling the UAV via wireless communication and/or datatransmission. The operator may include an emergency responder, anoperator in communication with UAV 206 via a remote device, such asadministration computing device 126, and/or a third party operator(including an operator associated with an insurance provider).

In the exemplary embodiment, UAV 206 may be configured to fly to provideoverhead vehicle crash data from the vehicle crash site. UAV 206 mayinclude any components to enable UAV 206 to fly, such as rotors,propulsion systems, wings, and/or balloons. In the exemplary embodiment,UAV 206 includes rotors 207. In other embodiments, UAV 206 may deployedby other means besides flying to enable UAV 206 to collect, locallystore, and/or transmit to another computing device, the vehicle crashdata. The UAV may be autonomously, semi-autonomously, or even manually,controlled.

In one embodiment, the emergency response vehicle 204 may deploy the UAV206 as a primary drone for direct data gathering at the event/emergencyscene. The emergency response vehicle 204 may also deploy severalsecondary autonomous or semi-autonomous drones for scene control andsecurity. The secondary drones may be used to divert or re-route trafficto make traveling safer for subsequent vehicles, as well as to keepunnecessary persons away from a scene having injured persons in need ofmedical attention.

As an example, the secondary drones may be automatically, or otherwise,directed downstream of an vehicle crash or other emergency scene tointercept vehicles that have not yet made it to the location of avehicle crash (or other emergency) in order to warn those vehicles anddrivers to slow down, stop, or reroute—potentially preventing additionalvehicle crashes. For instance, the secondary or backup drones may traveldown a road and hover a predetermined distance from the scene of theevent/emergency, and generate warnings indicative of theevent/emergency, such as flashing lights or audible warnings.

III. Exemplary Uav Deployment at a Crash Scene

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary crash scene 300 with an emergency responseunit 302 which includes an emergency response vehicle 304 and UAV 206.In the exemplary embodiment, crash scene 300 may include a vehicle crash310 involving a first vehicle 312 and a second vehicle 314 in a frontend collision at a four-way intersection. Additionally or alternatively,crash scene 300 may include a different number of vehicles, a differentcollision scenario, debris from vehicle crash 310, people, and/or otherproperty. A vehicle crash site 315 may be defined around the location ofvehicle crash 310 and/or any surround locations relevant to vehiclecrash 310.

Emergency response unit 302 may be used in a vehicle crash datacollection system, such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Emergencyresponse unit 302 may be similar to emergency response unit 102 and 202and, in the absence of a contrary representation, the same referencenumbers identify the same or similar elements. In the exemplaryembodiment, emergency response vehicle 304 may be a law enforcementvehicle (or fire department vehicle or ambulance).

FIG. 3 illustrates UAV 206 deployed from emergency response vehicle 304over vehicle crash 310. In the exemplary embodiment, UAV 206 may beconfigured to fly over vehicle crash site 315 using a region-of-interest(ROI) flight pattern such that UAV 206 flies over ROIs such as anyvehicles involved in vehicle crash 310, victims, and/or each vehicle'sroute to vehicle crash 310. The ROIs may be identified by UAV 206 and/orthe operator. In other embodiments, UAV 206 may fly a pre-definedpattern over vehicle crash site 315. The pre-defined pattern mayinclude, for example, flying over a circumferential area of a radialdistance from vehicle crash 310 and/or a distance of the road nearvehicle crash 310. In some embodiments, UAV 206 may be controlledmanually by the operator, such as a local or remote operator. In furtherembodiments, UAV 206 may include a plurality of selectable flight modessuch as, but not limited to, ROI, automatic (i.e., pre-defined), andmanual (such as entered by local or remotely located operators).

In addition, sensors 114 (not shown in FIG. 3) of UAV 206 may becontrolled to gather vehicle crash data from vehicle crash site 315. Forexample, UAV 206 may control sensors 114 to determine the location ofthe vehicles involved, the location of the vehicles relative to anyinfrastructure (e.g., curbs, road centerlines, bridges, power poles,buildings, etc.), the number and type of the vehicles involved, thelocation of debris from vehicle crash 310, the location of victimsincluding victims ejected from the vehicle, the severity of damage tovehicles, whether or not any vehicle involved is a total loss, theseverity of the injuries to the victims, and/or any hazardous materialinvolved by identifying HAZMAT placards or other identifiers.

In some embodiments, UAV 206 may continuously collect vehicle crashdata. In other embodiments, UAV 206 may collect vehicle crash data atROIs or other discrete locations (e.g., the operator manually operatessensors 114). In the exemplary embodiment, each sensor 114 of UAV 206may be configured separately to provide either continuous or discretedata. For example, a thermal camera of sensors 114 may be configured tocontinuously capture thermal image data while a range sensor of sensors114 may not collect distance data until a specific distance (e.g., thedistance of the vehicles to infrastructure) is measured.

IV. Exemplary Vehicle Crash Data Flow

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary diagram of a vehicle crash data flow 400that may be used in a vehicle crash data collection system, such assystem 100 shown in FIG. 1. Vehicle crash data flow 400 may include afirst data communication 402, a second data communication 404, a thirddata communication 406, and/or a fourth data communication 408. Vehiclecrash data flow 400 may include additional, fewer, or alternate datacommunications, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

First data communication 402 may be a data communication between UAV 106and remote computing device 116. Specifically, first data communication402 may be data transferred between communication module 112 of UAV 106and communication module 122 of remote computing device 116. In theexemplary embodiment, UAV 106 may transmit vehicle crash data to remotecomputing device 116 using first data communication 402. The vehiclecrash data may be structured such that remote computing device 116 mayidentify what type of data (e.g., image data, video data, audio data,map data, thermal data, etc.) is included in the vehicle crash data. Forexample, the vehicle crash data may include metadata identifying thetype of data including in the vehicle crash data. Remote computingdevice 116 may communicate with UAV 106 to notify UAV 106 of anytransmission errors or missing vehicle crash data. In some embodiments,remote computing device 116 may request that the vehicle crash dataincludes specific information such as, but not limited to, a timestamp,GPS data, image data, and/or video, map, or audio data.

Second data communication 404 may be a data communication between UAV106 and administration computing device 126. Administration computingdevice 126 may communicate with UAV 106 to assist with responding to avehicle crash. In some embodiments, administration computing device 126may be in communication with UAV 106 to receive vehicle crash datawithout accessing remote computing device 116. Administration computingdevice 126 may store the vehicle crash data. In the exemplaryembodiment, UAV 106 may be remotely accessed by administration computingdevice 126 using second data communication 404 to operate UAV 106 and/orrequest specific data to be collected (e.g., administration computingdevice 126 may request priority be given to thermal image data to locatevictims of the vehicle crash).

Third data communication 406 may be a data communication between remotecomputing device 116 and administration computing device 126. In theexemplary embodiment, remote computing device 116 may provideadministration computing device 126 the vehicle crash data. In someembodiments, remote computing device 116 may automatically send thevehicle crash data to administration computing device 126.Administration computing device 126 may transmit additional crashinformation collected from the vehicle crash and victims to remotecomputing device 116 to be stored, and/or subsequently analyzed ortransmitted to additional computing devices. In some embodiments,administration computing device 126 may send stored vehicle crash datafrom second data communication 404 to remote computing device to locateand/or verify a matching vehicle crash data entry. Administrationcomputing device 126 may also edit the vehicle crash data in remotecomputing device 116 to correct errors and inconsistencies.

Fourth data communication 408 may be a data communication between remotecomputing device 116 and each insurance computing device 124 and/or userdevice 125. As described above, if the vehicle crash data includes anyvehicle identifiers, remote computing device 116 may identify theassociated insurance provider with each vehicle of the vehicle crash.Remote computing device 116 may transmit the vehicle crash data toinsurance computing device 124 of the associated insurance providerusing fourth data communication 408. If the vehicle crash data does notinclude vehicle identifier, remote computing device 116 may notifyinsurance computing devices 124 of any new vehicle crash data usinglimited vehicle crash data, such as time, date, location, and an imageof the vehicle crash, and/or data associated with the severity vehicledamage and/or passenger injuries. In the exemplary embodiment, insurancecomputing devices 124 may be notified by an insurance claim filed by thevictim of the vehicle insured by the associated insurance providers 124.Insurance providers 124 and/or user device 125 may send a search ordownload request to remote computing device 116 to locate and retrievethe vehicle crash data.

The vehicle crash data stored in remote computing device 116 may bedeleted after the vehicle crash data is sent to insurance computingdevices 124. For example, the vehicle crash data may be deletedimmediately upon receipt, after a time duration expires, or manually. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the associated insurance provider 124 maysubscribe to the vehicle crash data stored in remote computing device116 to receive updated information (e.g., edits and additional crashinformation submitted by administration device 126) and/or notificationsof other insurance providers 124 involved in the vehicle crash.

V. Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Collecting Vehicle CrashData

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method 500 for aUAV, or drone, in a vehicle crash data collection system. Method 500 maybe implemented by a vehicle crash data collection system, such as system100 shown in FIG. 1. In the exemplary embodiment, method 500 may beimplemented by a UAV. Method 500 may include additional, fewer, oralternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein, and/ormay be implemented via various local or remote processors, and/orcomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable media or medium.

Method 500 may begin with the UAV coupled to an emergency responsevehicle at a vehicle crash scene of a vehicle crash. The UAV mayautomatically deploy 502 from the emergency response vehicle. In theexemplary embodiment, the UAV may be configured for aerial deployment.The UAV may navigate 504 a vehicle crash site and/or around the vehiclecrash. In the exemplary embodiment, the UAV may automatically maneuveraround the vehicle crash site to facilitate vehicle crash datacollection. The UAV may collect 506 vehicle crash data with at least onesensor while navigating 504 the vehicle crash site.

The UAV may store 508 the collected vehicle crash data for furthertransmission. In some embodiments, the UAV may process the vehicle crashdata. For example, the UAV may detect if the vehicle crash data includesany vehicle identifiers using pattern recognition on image data of thevehicle crash data. Additionally or alternatively, the UAV may not store508 the vehicle crash data. The UAV may transmit 510 the vehicle crashdata to at least one computing device for further processing. In theexemplary embodiment, the UAV may transmit 510 the vehicle crash data toa remote computing device and/or an administration computing device. Insome embodiments, the UAV may transmit 510 the vehicle crash data to atleast one insurance computing device (such as an insurance providerremote server), and/or at least one user device (such as a user mobiledevice, e.g., smartphone).

VI. Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Processing Vehicle CrashData

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computer-implemented method 600 ofprocessing vehicle crash data from a vehicle crash. Method 600 may beimplemented by a vehicle crash data collection system including at leasta UAV with at least one sensor and a remote computing device, such assystem 100 shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, method 600 may beimplemented, at least in part, by an insurance computing device. Method600 may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via various localor remote processors, and/or computer-executable instructions stored onnon-transitory computer-readable media or medium.

Method 600 may begin with the remote computing device receiving 602vehicle crash data from the UAV. The remote computing device may store604 the vehicle crash data. In certain embodiments, the remote computingdevice may scan the vehicle crash data. The remote computing device maydetermine 606 if the vehicle crash data includes any vehicleidentifiers.

If a vehicle identifier is detected, the remote computing device mayidentify 608 an associated insurance provider based, at least in part,on the vehicle identifier. In some embodiments, the remote computingdevice may compare the vehicle identifier to a lookup table including atleast vehicle identifiers and/or associated insurance providers. Thelookup table may further include vehicle owners and insurance policyholders. The remote computing device may transmit 610 the vehicle crashdata to the associated insurance provider. In the exemplary embodiment,the remote computing device may transmit 610 the vehicle crash data toan insurance computing device implemented by the associated insuranceprovider. In the embodiments in which the vehicle crash data includes aplurality of vehicle identifiers, the remote computing device maycontinue to identify 608 an associated insurance provider and transmit608 the vehicle crash data to the associated insurance provider until nomore vehicle identifiers remain. In some embodiments, at least one ofthe vehicle identifiers may not identify an associated insuranceprovider and may be disregarded or identified separately from the othervehicle identifiers.

If the remote computing device determines 606 that the vehicle crashdata does not include any vehicle identifiers, the remote computingdevice may receive 612 a search query from a first insurance providervia a first insurance computing device. In some embodiments, the searchquery may be sent by an insurance policy holder or vehicle owner via auser device. Alternatively, the remote computing device may transmit anotification including at least a portion of the vehicle crash data toat least one insurance computing device.

The remote computing device may identify 614 the vehicle crash databased, at least in part, on the search query to determine the firstinsurance provider is associated with a vehicle at the vehicle crashsite. In the exemplary embodiment, the remote computing device maycompare the search query to any stored vehicle crash data and, determineif any stored vehicle crash data matches or corresponds to the searchquery. In some embodiments, the remote computing device may send searchresults to the first insurance computing device. In response, if thefirst insurance provider determines the search results include thevehicle crash data associated with the vehicle, the insurance computingdevice may send a download request to the remote computing device forthe identified vehicle crash data. Additionally or alternatively, theremote computing device may automatically identify 614 the vehiclecrash. In some embodiments, the remote computing device may not identify614 any vehicle crash data based upon the search query and may send anotification to the insurance provider in response. The remote computingdevice may transmit 610 the vehicle crash data to the associatedinsurance provider via the insurance computing device.

VII. Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Initiating an InsuranceClaim with Crash Data

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computer-implemented method 700 ofprocessing vehicle crash data from a vehicle crash with an insurancecomputing device. Method 700 may be implemented by a vehicle crash datacollection system such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Method 700 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via various localor remote processors, and/or computer-executable instructions stored onnon-transitory computer-readable media or medium.

Method 700 may begin with the insurance computing device determining 702if any vehicle crash data involving an associated vehicle or insurancepolicy holder has been received from a remote computing device. If theinsurance computing device has received vehicle crash data from theremote computing device, the insurance computing device may initiate 704a crash insurance claim for the insurance policy holder or vehicleowner. In the exemplary embodiment, the insurance computing device maynotify the insurance policy holder via a user device that the crashinsurance claim has been initiated. In some embodiments, the insurancecomputing device may notify the insurance policy holder beforeinitiating 704 the crash insurance claim and may wait for the insurancepolicy holder to consent to the claim. The insurance computing devicemay automatically populate 706 an insurance claim form based, at leastin part, on the vehicle crash data and process 708 the crash insuranceclaim. In some embodiments, the vehicle crash data may be used to assessfault of the crash.

If the insurance computing device determines 702 that no vehicle crashdata has been received from the remote computing device, the insurancecomputing device may wait until receiving 710 a crash insurance claimfrom the insurance policy holder. Based upon the information in thecrash insurance claim, the insurance computing device may send 712 asearch query to the remote computing device to identify any matchingvehicle crash data. The insurance computing device may receive thevehicle crash data from the remote computing device if the vehicle crashdata is identified. If the vehicle crash data is not identified, theinsurance computing device may use the crash insurance claim and otherdata such as Police Accident Records to initiate the insurance claim.The insurance computing device may proceed to process 708 the crashinsurance claim.

In one embodiment, the method (and/or computer system) may include usingthe vehicle crash data received to create or identify vehicleidentifiers and facilitate insurance services. For instance, the methodand computer system may include facilitating treatment of a damagedvehicle by gathering crash information, estimating an extent of vehicledamage, and transmitting information associated with treating thedamaged vehicle, such as in the manner described by U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/841,222 (entitled “System and Method for Using aSpecialty Vehicle Data Identifier to Facilitate Treatment of a VehicleDamaged in a Crash,” filed Aug. 31, 2015). The method and computersystem may include providing vehicle insurance services and providing aspecialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translationof a vehicle data identifier used to identify a vehicle, such as in amanner described by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/841,200(entitled “System and Method for Facilitating Vehicle InsuranceServices,” filed Aug. 31, 2015). The method and computer system mayinclude providing vehicle insurance services that include correlatingvehicle information with a specialty vehicle data identifier, such as ina manner described by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/841,179(entitled “Vehicle Treatment—Big Data,” filed Aug. 31, 2015). The threefore-mentioned U.S. patent applications are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

VIII. Exemplary Server Device

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary configuration of an exemplary servercomputer device 800 that may be used in a vehicle crash data collectionsystem, such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure. A server computer device 800 mayinclude, but is not limited to, remote computing device 116, insurancecomputing devices 124, user device 125, or administration computingdevice 126 (all shown in FIG. 1). Server computer device 800 may alsoinclude a processor 805 for executing instructions. Instructions may bestored in a memory area 810. Processor 805 may include one or moreprocessing units (e.g., in a multi-core configuration).

Processor 805 may be operatively coupled to a communication interface815 such that server computer device 800 may be capable of communicatingwith a remote device such as another server computer device 800, UAV 106(shown in FIG. 1), insurance computing devices 124, user device 125,and/or administration computing device 126. For example, communicationinterface 815 may receive requests from or transmit requests to UAV 106via the Internet.

Processor 805 may also be operatively coupled to a storage device 834.Storage device 834 may be any computer-operated hardware suitable forstoring and/or retrieving data, such as, but not limited to, dataassociated with remote computing device 116, insurance computing devices124, and/or administration computing device 126. In some embodiments,storage device 834 may be integrated in server computer device 800. Forexample, server computer device 800 may include one or more hard diskdrives as storage device 834. In other embodiments, storage device 834may be external to server computer device 800 and may be accessed by aplurality of server computer devices 800. For example, storage device834 may include a storage area network (SAN), a network attached storage(NAS) system, and/or multiple storage units such as hard disks and/orsolid state disks in a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID)configuration.

In some embodiments, processor 805 may be operatively coupled to storagedevice 834 via a storage interface 820. Storage interface 820 may be anycomponent capable of providing processor 805 with access to storagedevice 834. Storage interface 820 may include, for example, an AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA) adapter, a Serial ATA (SATA) adapter, aSmall Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter, a RAID controller, a SANadapter, a network adapter, and/or any component providing processor 805with access to storage device 834.

Processor 805 executes computer-executable instructions for implementingaspects of the disclosure. In some embodiments, processor 805 may betransformed into a special purpose microprocessor by executingcomputer-executable instructions or by otherwise being programmed. Forexample, processor 805 may be programmed with the instructions such asare illustrated in FIG. 6.

IX. Additional Autonomous Drone Embodiments

The present embodiments may relate to a computer-implemented method toeffect the collection of real-time vehicle (or other crash) data. AnUAV, such as autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, may be placed on thetop of a fire engine or other emergency response vehicle. When the EMSvehicle arrives on the crash scene, the UAV may automatically disengagefrom the roof and fly over the crash site capturing criticalinformation, such as the exact location of the vehicle(s) involved andtheir location relative to nearby infrastructure.

For instance, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone may launch from an initial emergency responsevehicle arriving at the scene. The autonomous or semi-autonomous dronemay be programmed to fly a preset pattern over the event/crash scene.The autonomous or semi-autonomous drone may capture/generate data and/orimagery from the scene. The autonomous or semi-autonomous drone mayprocess the data collected and/or generated, and report back to theemergency responders (such as via mobile device), emergency vehiclecontrollers/processors, and/or third party remote servers or processors(such as located at an insurance provider or hospital).

With conventional techniques, when a crash occurs, a first responder maybe tasked with rescuing and caring for injured people, directing trafficand ensuring that the scene is safe (e.g., washing down the road). Theseactivities are critical and do not leave time for these responders togather data, data which may prove short-lived once the damaged vehiclesare removed and the road is reopened. Additionally, the gathering ofthis data must not interfere with emergency response activities.

The present embodiments may involve placing UAVs on the tops of fire andemergency response vehicles. When the EMS vehicle arrives on scene, theUAV automatically disengages from the roof and flies over the crash sitecapturing critical information; such as the exact location of thevehicles involved and their location relative to the infrastructure.These units (in time) may be able to fly without a human interface(e.g., autonomously), and since they may fly, they may be safelygathering data from above and out of the way of the EMS team as it doesits work. The data gathered may include, but is not limited to: (1) theexact location of the vehicles involved; (2) the location of thevehicles relative to the infrastructure (curb, centerline, bridge, powerpole, etc.); (3) the number and type of vehicles involved; (4) thelocation and extent of debris from the crash; (5) the vehicle licenseplates of vehicle involved; (6) whether any vehicle involved sustaineddamage consistent with a total loss, or is going to have to be towedaway from the crash scene; (7) locations of victims (thermal camera),especially if they were ejected any distance away; (8) the extent of anyinjuries and/or whether an ambulance is needed; (9) identification ofhazardous materials involved in the event (an algorithm may key in onvisible HAZMAT placards); and/or other types of data, including thatdiscussed elsewhere herein.

Some of the drone-collected information may prove useful to EMS, such aswhere people are located and may be communicated through an interfacecreated to allow the emergency responders to monitor the UAV data(onsite or remotely). Since the vehicle may launch upon arrival at thescene (or shortly before or after arrival), it may also quicklybroadcast images back to a command post (which may be used for crashesinvolving vehicles carrying hazardous materials). And communicate thescale of the crash (such as smoke, fog, or snow storm involving amulticar pileup). Thermal imaging could “see” residual warmth from eachcar/truck engine to “count” the number of involved vehicles, and injuredpersons. This information may let EMS know in a timely manner if theyneed to bring in more assistance.

Once the data is gathered by the drone, it may be used to pre-populatethe Police Accident Record (PAR). It may also be transmitted to thevehicles' insurance companies to accelerate the claim handling process,such as after license plate is read and/or the vehicle otherwiseidentified from drone data. By remotely collecting data withsophisticated sensors, the dimensions, precise locations and/or relativepositions may be very accurate. It may also, after being checked by thepolice officer responsible for the event, prove to be a real time savingtechnology. The collection of data via autonomous or semi-autonomousdrones may also be safer than having law enforcement measuring andmarking things manually after a crash. And if the methods herein speedthings up, the traffic wait for backup cars and trucks may be less, andin turn may lead to less additional crashes. In one embodiment, remoteautomatic deployment of a UAV may be provided, and the UAV may beinterfaced with EMS, local law enforcement, insurance providers, such asvia wireless communication and data transmission. The remote datacollection may enable real-time decision making for response to anevent.

As noted herein, the present embodiments may relate to collecting dataassociated with an insurance-related event such as an automobile crashvia a drone associated with an emergency response vehicle. Although theinsurance-related event is described elsewhere herein as an automobileor vehicle crash, it is contemplated that the present embodiments mayalso apply to other insurance-related events, such as, but not limitedto, train derailment, airplane crash, or home (or other building orstructure) fire. The drone may be fully autonomous, semi-autonomous, ormanually operated. The drone data that is collected by the drone may belocally stored on a memory unit mounted on the drone, and/or transmittedto an insurance provider, or other third party, remote server orprocessor, for remote storage and/or subsequent analysis.

Computer analysis of the drone data may facilitate, or be used to, (i)handle, adjust, or generate insurance claims (such as an auto,homeowners, renters, or personal articles insurance claim); (ii) makethe process of repairing damaged vehicles and homes (or other buildingsor structures) more efficient and timely; (iii) reconstruct crashscenes; (iv) determine fault, wholly or partially, for a crash, such asvehicle, operator, weather-related, or construction-related fault; (v)identify buildup (i.e., fraudulent inflation of a potential insuranceclaim) or fraudulent insurance claims; and/or other insurance-relatedpurposes or activities.

In one aspect, a drone may be securely mounted to an emergency responsevehicle, such as held in place as the vehicle travels to the scene of acrash by one or more processor controller latches (such aselectronically-controlled latches, which may be controlled or releasedby one or more electronically controlled servos or actuators). Theemergency response vehicle may include a vehicle controller or processorthat receives a location, such as a street location or GPS location, ofa crash scene. Once the emergency response vehicle arrives at, or withinthe vicinity of, the street location or GPS location (such as within 10,25, or 50 meters of the crash location), and/or after the vehicle issafely parked, the vehicle controller or processor may (a) automaticallyunlatch the drone, (b) start the drone, and/or (c) direct liftoff andmovement of the drone, either in a fully autonomous mode or asemi-autonomous mode of operation. For instance, a driver of theemergency vehicle may flip an electronic switch releasing the droneand/or starting the drone once the emergency vehicle arrives at thescene of the crash, and/or is safely parked. The drone may be securelymounted to a roof of emergency vehicle, such as an ambulance, policevehicle, or fire engine in some embodiments to facilitate quick andautomatic, or semi-automatic, deployment in the face of an emergencysituation or vehicle crash—when time may be of the essence to giveemergency aid to those injured. Additionally or alternatively, the dronemay be under full control of a local or remote operator once it islaunched from the emergency vehicle at, or near the scene of, the crash.

The date collected by the drone of the crash, such as an auto or traincrash, building or structure fire, or natural disaster (e.g.,earthquake, wildfire, hurricane, tornado, flash flooding, storm surge,or other catastrophe) may be analyzed to determine a severity of damageto vehicles, buildings or homes, and/or people (such as damage toinsured autos or homes/buildings/structures, and/or injuries to insureddrivers, passengers, or homeowners). The drone data may be analyzedusing object recognition (OR), optical character recognition (OCR), orother computing techniques, via one or more local or remote processors(such as drone mounted processors, or remotely located EMS, emergencyvehicle, and/or insurance provider servers or processors). For instance,vehicle features, such as color, make, type of vehicle (e.g., sedan orSUV), VIN, license plate number and State, etc., may be identified, suchas using OR and/or OCR techniques performed on the drone data collected.

While the emergency response vehicle travels to the scene of the crash,GPS location data associated with a GPS location or street address ofthe crash (such as the corner of Elm and Chippewa Streets for a vehiclecrash, or 305 Elm St. for a home fire or other crash) may be downloadedfrom the internet, a website, or a server, or retrieved from an onboardmemory unit. The GPS location data associated with the crash scene maybe used to automatically generate an initial flight plan for the drone(to be used once the drone arrives onsite of the crash, such as used byan autonomous or semi-autonomous drone to fly around the crash scene andcollect/generate crash data). The initial flight plan may bepre-programmed to, or otherwise stored, onto a drone memory unit.

Prior to launch, or even after launch, at the crash scene, the flightpath of the drone may be adjusted to take into account obstacles and/orthe extent of the crash. For instance, a train crash scene may extendfor a mile or two. The pre-generated flight path generated based upon aninitial location reported may be adjusted manually or automatically onceat the crash scene to account for the actual extent of the crash scenewhich may not have been previously reported and/or which may havechanged after the initial report. For instance, a (remote or local)manual operator may take control of the drone, partially or wholly.Alternatively, a (remote or local) operator may adjust the flight path,such as entering into a computer GPS coordinates, or street names,detailing the extent (or defining the boundaries) of the crash.

Further, additionally or alternatively, once the drone is airborne atthe scene, the drone may analyze the extent of the crash in real-time ornear real-time, and (i) generate an original flight path from the dronedata being collected, and/or (ii) adjust the original pre-programmedflight path uploaded to the drone based upon the analysis of the dronedata being collected in real-time or near real-time. For instance, GPScoordinates associated with the drone data being collected may becompared with GPS coordinates of the original pre-programmed flightpath, and the original pre-programmed flight path may then be adjustedto account for GPS or other errors. Also, any flight path pre-generatedmay have associated GPS coordinates that may be periodically orconstantly compared with GPS data being generated from the drone inreal-time to detect any errors with the flight path, and/or mismatchesbetween actual or current drone GPS or other location data with anexpected drone location—such as based upon map-matching, dead reckoning,or other techniques used to ensure that the drone is actually at itsexpected position (and not off by a few meters, which may make the dronecollide with objects or obstacles in a flight path). Moreover, if thecrash occurs at night, or without sunlight, the drone may deploy orenergize a spot light to help emergency responders find those injured,determine an extent of damage, and/or to facilitate generating image orvideo data of enhanced quality at the crash scene.

In one aspect, an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone released at acrash scene may be programmed to identify obstacles (such as obstaclesthat have moved because of the crash, e.g., street light or sign nowhanging over the middle of a street) and/or their locations, compare theobstacles height or location with a pre-programmed flight path, and/oradjust the flight path to automatically avoid the obstacles or otherwisefly the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone in a safe and automaticmanner.

In another aspect, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone may becontrolled or moved in an incremental manner, such as during a closeinspection of an insured property/object. A control module may stabilizethe drone in a consistent hover while maintaining a close distance. Thecontrol module of the drone may retrieve proximal sensor data thatindicates possible nearby obstructions to the drone. The control modulemay automatically adjust the flight path of autonomous drone.Additionally or alternatively, the control module may transmit thesensor data to a remote server—that in turn determines, and displays toa remote operator, the non-obstructed directions that the drone iscapable of moving. A remotely controlled drone (controlled via a manualoperator) may be controlled in a manner disclosed by U.S. Pat. No.8,818,572, entitled “System and Method for Controlling a Remote AerialDevice for Up-Close Inspection, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In another embodiment, an autonomous, semi-autonomous, or manuallyoperated drone may be used in conjunction with a tethering device at thecrash scene. The tethering device may utilize a ground line attached tothe drone in such a way that the line can flex to avoid obstacles. Anexemplary tethering device is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,931,144,entitled “Tethering System and Method for Remote Device,” which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

X. Exemplary Method Deploying Autonomous Drones

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of collecting autonomous,semi-autonomous, and/or other drone data for insurance-related purposesmay be provided. The method may include: (1) receiving, via or at one ormore processors (such as via wireless communication and/or datatransmission at an associated transceiver, the processors beingassociated with an autonomous, semi-autonomous, or manually operateddrone; emergency response vehicle; insurance provider; or other thirdparty, such as a hospital, police department, or fire department), acrash location (such as a GPS location or street address) associatedwith an insurance-related event, such as a vehicle crash, train or planecrash, house fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or natural disaster;(2) generating, at the one or more processors (or other processor), apre-generated flight path for an autonomous or semi-autonomous dronebased upon the crash location (such as determine a length and/or widthof the crash scene, or a radius around the crash location (such as 25,50, or 100 meters, or other radius distance)), the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely in place, on anemergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location; (3)uploading, via the one or more processors (or other processor), thepre-generated flight path to the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone;(4) once the emergency response vehicle arrives at the crash scene,autonomously or semi-autonomously flying (such as under the directionand/or control of one or more drone-mounted, emergency response vehicle,insurance provider, emergency responder, or third party processors) theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone in accordance with the pre-generatedflight path at the crash location to generate and/or collect drone data(e.g., image, video, or audio data) associated with the crash; (5)generating and/or collecting crash scene or drone data, via one or moredrone or other processors (or other processor), while the drone isusing, operating via, or flying the pre-generated flight path, or aportion thereof; (6) receiving, via or at one or more processors (suchas at an insurance provider, emergency responder, or other third partyremote server or processor), the crash scene or drone data transmittedfrom the drone (such as transmitted from a drone or emergency responsevehicle transceiver); (7) analyzing, via the one or more processors(such as an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, emergency responsevehicle, insurance provider, emergency responder, or other third partyremote server or processor), the crash scene or drone data received (orotherwise stored at the drone or in an autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone memory); (8) determining, via the one or more processors (such asan autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, emergency response vehicle,insurance provider, emergency responder, or other third party remoteserver or processor), an extent of vehicle or home (or other building orstructure) damage caused by the insurance-related event from computeranalysis of the crash scene or drone data (such as via comparison withhistorical images of previous vehicle crashes orinsurance-events/emergencies, images of insured assets (vehicles, homes,buildings, structures, etc.) with a predetermined estimate of damage orestimate of severity of the event stored in a memory unit or database);and/or (9) using, via the one or more processors (such as an autonomousor semi-autonomous drone, emergency response vehicle, an insuranceprovider, emergency responder, or other third party remote server orprocessor), the extent of vehicle or home (or other building orstructure) damage determined from computer analysis of the crash sceneor drone data to facilitate mitigating or preventing further damageand/or for further insurance-related purposes. The method may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via one or more local orremote processors (e.g., drone, emergency vehicle, or insurance providerprocessors), or via computer-executable instructions stored in anon-transitory computer readable medium or media.

For instance, the method may include using or otherwise analyzing, viathe one or more processors, the extent of vehicle or home (or otherbuilding or structure) damage determined from computer analysis of thecrash scene or drone data to handle, adjust, and/or generate aninsurance claim for the insured, such as an auto insurance claim, or ahomeowners, renters, or personal articles insurance claim. The methodmay include using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or moreprocessors, the extent of vehicle or home (or other building orstructure) damage determined from computer analysis of the crash sceneor drone data to request additional emergency responders promptlyrespond to the scene of the crash, such as via wireless communicationand/or data transmission.

The method may include using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or moreprocessors, the extent of vehicle or building damage determined fromcomputer analysis of the crash scene or drone data to estimate an amountof vehicle or building damage, and/or make recommendations to theinsured to facilitate promptly repairing the vehicle or building damage,such as generating recommendations regarding one or more reputable localvehicle or building repair companies which are then transmitted to amobile device of the insured for their review or approval. In certainembodiments, the method may generate a recommendation of a towingservice provider. The method may include using or otherwise analyzing,via the one or more processors, the crash scene or drone data toidentify potential buildup or otherwise adjust insurance claims upwardor downward.

The method may include using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or moreprocessors, the crash scene or drone data to virtually reconstruct thecrash scene, such as including before, during, and/or after events,and/or determine fault for the crash, such as assign partial or wholefault for the crash to one or more participants or vehicles (such asautonomous vehicles), or weather or construction conditions.

The method may include (i) determining, via one or more local or remoteprocessors, (a) the emergency vehicle has arrived at, or within thevicinity of the crash location (such as within 100 meters), and/or (b)has stopped moving or is otherwise parked; (ii) once the emergencyvehicle is at the crash location, via one or more processors,automatically releasing or otherwise opening one or more vehicle-mountedlatches holding the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone in place on(such as on the roof of an emergency response vehicle), or otherwisesecuring the drone to, the emergency response vehicle; and/or (iii)directing, via one or more processors, and/or under local or remoteoperator control, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone to liftoffand/or fly around the crash location and/or gather/collect crash scenedata that may be used for insurance-related purposes.

The method may include (i) once the autonomous or semi-autonomous droneis airborne at the crash scene, determining, via one or more local orremote processors, one or more obstacles in a pre-generated or otherflight path of the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, such as fromcomputer analysis of the drone data initially collected at the crashscene; and/or (ii) automatically or manually directing or adjusting, viaone or more processors, the flight path of the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone at the crash scene to avoid the one or moreobstacles detected via computer analysis of the recently gathered dronedata (such as to detect current obstacles not presently stored in datedor old GPS or other location data stored in a memory unit).

XI. Exemplary Method of Using Autonomous Drones

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method collecting an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposes may beprovided. The method may include (1) receiving, via or at one or moreprocessors (such as via wireless communication and/or data transmissionat an associated transceiver, the processors being associated with anautonomous or semi-autonomous drone, an emergency vehicle, an insuranceprovider, or other third party, such as a hospital, police department,or fire department), a crash location (such as a GPS location or streetaddress) associated with an insurance-related event, such as a vehiclecrash, train or plane crash, house fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane,or other catastrophe.

The method may include (2) generating, at the one or more processors (orother processor), a pre-generated flight path for an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPS location (such asdetermining a length and/or width of the crash scene, or a radius aroundthe crash location (such as 25 or 100 meters)), the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely in place, on anemergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location. Forinstance, for a vehicle crash, based upon a GPS location along a road orhighway, a circular flight path may be determined with a radius of 10-50meters centered around the crash GPS location. For a home (or buildingor structure) fire, a flight path may be generated around a home at acertain distance from each side of the home, such as flight pathdirecting the drone to fly 2-5 meters from each wall of a partiallydamaged house. The flight paths may include varying the distance from adamaged insured asset (e.g., vehicle or building) to enhance the qualityof images acquired, such as moving the drone closer to a damagedvehicle, and then moving further away to acquire images of differentviewpoints of the event.

The method may include (3) uploading, via the one or more processors (orother processor), the pre-generated flight path to the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, or memory unit thereof. For instance, a drone maybe upload with a pre-generated flight path that centered around a GPScrash location. Alternatively, the drone may receive the crash GPSlocation and generate a flight path that moves along the road a certaindistance, for a vehicle crash, or flies around the crash GPS location ata certain or varying distance, such as 5-25 meters from the crash scene.

The method may include (4) once the emergency response vehicle arrivesat the crash scene, autonomously or semi-autonomously (e.g., the droneis at least partially controlled by one or more autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, insurance provider, emergency responder,emergency response vehicle, third party processors, and/or a local orremote drone operator) flying the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone inaccordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash location tocollect drone data (e.g., image, video, or audio data) associated withthe crash to facilitate using the drone data for insurance-relatedactivity. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein, and/or may be implementedvia one or more local or remote processors (e.g., drone, emergencyvehicle, or insurance provider processors), or via computer-executableinstructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium ormedia.

For instance, the method may include collecting crash scene or dronedata, via one or more autonomous or semi-autonomous drone or otherprocessors (or other processor), while the autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone is flying, otherwise operating via, the pre-generated flight path.The method may include receiving, via one or more processors (such as atan insurance provider, emergency responder or vehicle, or other thirdparty remote server or processor), the crash scene or drone datatransmitted from the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone (such astransmitted from a transceiver mounted on the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone); and/or storing, via the one or more processors,the crash scene or drone data in a memory unit for subsequent analysis.

The method may include (i) analyzing, via the one or more processors(such as an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, an insurance provider,emergency responder or vehicle, or other third party remote server orprocessor), the crash scene or drone data received (or otherwise storedat the drone or in a drone memory); (ii) determining, via the one ormore processors (such as an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, aninsurance provider, emergency responder or vehicle, or other third partyremote server or processor), an extent of vehicle or building damagecaused by the insurance-related event from computer analysis of thecrash scene or drone data (such as via comparison with historical imagesof previous vehicle crashes or insurance-events/emergencies stored in amemory unit or database); and/or (iii) using, via the one or moreprocessors (such as an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, an insuranceprovider, emergency responder, or other third party remote server orprocessor), the extent of vehicle or building damage determined fromcomputer analysis of the crash scene or drone data to mitigate furtherdamage and/or for further insurance-related purposes.

The insurance-related activity may include (a) using or otherwiseanalyzing, via the one or more processors, the crash scene or drone datato handle, adjust, and/or generate an insurance claim for the insured,such as an auto insurance claim, or a homeowners or renters insuranceclaim; (b) using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors,the crash scene or drone data to request additional emergency responderspromptly respond to the scene of the crash, such as via wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission; (c) using or otherwiseanalyzing, via the one or more processors, the crash scene or drone datato estimate an amount of vehicle or building damage, and/or makerecommendations to the insured to facilitate promptly repairing thevehicle or building damage, such as by generating recommendationsregarding one or more reputable local vehicle or building (or home)repair companies that are then transmitted to a mobile device of theinsured for their review or approval; (d) using or otherwise analyzing,via the one or more processors, the crash scene or drone data toidentify potential buildup or otherwise adjust insurance claims upwardor downward; and/or (e) using or otherwise analyzing, via the one ormore processors, the crash scene or drone data to virtually reconstructthe crash scene, such as reconstruct events before, during, and/or afterthe crash, and/or determine fault for the crash, such as assign partialor whole fault for the crash to one or more participants or vehicles.

XII. Exemplary Methods of Navigating Autonomous Drones

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of collecting an autonomousor semi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposes may beprovided. The method may include: (1) receiving, at one or moreprocessors (or an associated transceiver) mounted on an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, such as via wireless communication and/or datatransmission sent from an emergency vehicle, an insurance provider, orother third party (such as a hospital, police department, or firedepartment) server or transceiver, a crash location (such as a GPSlocation or street address) associated with an insurance-related event,such as a vehicle crash, train or plane crash, house fire, earthquake,tornado, hurricane, or other catastrophe; (2) generating, at the one ormore processors mounted on the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, apre-generated flight path for the autonomous or semi-autonomous dronebased upon the crash location (such as determining a length and/or widthof the crash scene, or a radius around the crash location (such as 25 or100 meters)), the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone being mounted, orheld securely in place, on an emergency response vehicle traveling tothe crash location; and/or (3) once the emergency response vehiclearrives at the crash scene, autonomously or semi-autonomously flying(such as under the direction and control of the one or more processorsmounted on the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone), the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone in accordance with the pre-generated flight pathat the crash location to collect drone data (e.g., image, video, oraudio data) associated with the crash to facilitate using the drone datafor insurance-related activity.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of collecting anautonomous or semi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposesmay be provided. The method may include (1) receiving, via or at one ormore processors (or an associated transceiver) mounted on an emergencyresponse vehicle, such as via wireless communication and/or datatransmission sent from a transceiver associated with an insuranceprovider, or other third party (such as a hospital, police department,or fire department), a crash location (such as a GPS location or streetaddress) associated with an insurance-related event, such as a vehiclecrash, train or plane crash, house fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane,or other catastrophe; (2) generating, at the one or more processors ofthe emergency response vehicle, a pre-generated flight path for anautonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the crash location (suchas determining a length and/or width of the crash scene, or a radiusaround the crash location (such as 25 or 100 meters)), the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely in place, on theemergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location; (3)uploading (or transmitted), via the one or more processors (or otherprocessor), the pre-generated flight path to a processor of theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone, or memory unit thereof; and/or (4)once the emergency response vehicle arrives at the crash scene,autonomously or semi-autonomously flying (such as under the directionand control of one or more processors of the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone) the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone inaccordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash location tocollect drone data (e.g., image, video, or audio data) associated withthe crash to facilitate using the drone data for insurance-relatedactivity.

The foregoing methods may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein, and/or may beimplemented via one or more local or remote processors (e.g., drone,emergency vehicle, or insurance provider processors), or viacomputer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computerreadable medium or media. For instance, the method may includetransmitting the drone data from the autonomous or semi-autonomous droneto an emergency response vehicle, emergency responder mobile device,third party remote server (e.g., police, hospital, fire department), orinsurance provider remote server to facilitate processing the drone datafor insurance-related purposes or activity. The insurance-relatedactivity may include (i) using or otherwise analyzing, via the one ormore processors, the crash scene or drone data to handle, adjust, and/orgenerate an insurance claim for the insured, such as an auto insuranceclaim, or a homeowners or renters insurance claim; (ii) using orotherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the crash scene ordrone data to request additional emergency responders promptly respondto the scene of the crash, such as via wireless communication and/ordata transmission; (iii) using or otherwise analyzing, via the one ormore processors, the crash scene or drone data to estimate an amount ofvehicle or building damage, and/or make recommendations to the insuredto facilitate promptly repairing the vehicle or building damage, such asby generating recommendations regarding one or more reputable localvehicle or building repair companies that are then transmitted to amobile device of the insured for their review or approval; (iv) using orotherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the crash scene ordrone data to identify potential buildup or otherwise adjust insuranceclaims upward or downward; and/or (v) using or otherwise analyzing, viathe one or more processors, the crash scene or drone data to virtuallyreconstruct the crash scene, such as reconstruct events before, during,and/or after the crash, and/or determine fault for the crash, such asassign partial or whole fault for the crash to one or more participantsor vehicles.

XIII. Exemplary Computer Systems

In one aspect, a computer system for collecting autonomous,semi-autonomous, and/or other drone data for insurance-related purposesmay be provided. The computer system may include one or more processorsand/or transceivers configured to: (1) determine (such as via a local orremote GPS receiver or unit) or receive a crash GPS location associatedwith an insurance-related event; (2) generate a pre-generated flightpath for an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPSlocation (such as a flight path centered about the crash GPS location,or built based upon or otherwise using the crash GPS location), theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely inplace, on an emergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location;(3) upload the pre-generated flight path to the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone (or alternatively, the drone generating the flightpath after receiving the crash GPS location); (4) once the emergencyresponse vehicle arrives at the crash scene, autonomously orsemi-autonomously direct the flying the autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone in accordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash GPSlocation to generate or collect drone data associated with the crash;(5) generate or collect crash scene or drone data while the drone isflying the pre-generated flight path, or a portion thereof; (6)determine an extent of vehicle or building damage caused by theinsurance-related event from computer analysis of the crash scene ordrone data collected while the drone is flying the pre-generated flightpath; and/or (7) use the extent of vehicle or building damage determinedfrom computer analysis of the crash scene or drone data to facilitatemitigating further damage or for further insurance-related purposes.

The computer system may be configured to use or otherwise analyze theextent of vehicle or building damage determined from computer analysisof the crash scene or drone data to (i) handle, adjust, and/or generatean auto, homeowners, renters, personal articles, or other insuranceclaim for the insured; (ii) request additional emergency responderspromptly respond to the scene of the crash via wireless communicationand/or data transmission; (iii) estimate an amount of vehicle orbuilding damage or make recommendations to the insured to facilitatepromptly repairing the vehicle or building damage, such as by comparingimages of an vehicle crash with historical images of crashes of varyingdamage amounts; (iv) identify potential buildup or otherwise adjustinsurance claims upward or downward; and/or (v) virtually reconstructthe crash scene or assign partial or whole fault for the crash to one ormore participants or vehicles (such as autonomous vehicles), or weatheror construction conditions.

The computer system may be configured to (1) determine (a) the emergencyvehicle has arrived at, or within the vicinity of the crash location(such as within 100 meters), or (b) has stopped moving or is otherwiseparked; (2) once the emergency vehicle is at the crash location,automatically release or otherwise open one or more vehicle-mountedlatches holding the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone in place on theemergency response vehicle; and/or (3) direct the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone to liftoff and fly around the crash location andcollect crash scene data that may be used for insurance-relatedpurposes. The computer system may also be configured to: once theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone is airborne at the crash scene,determine one or more obstacles (such as by performing objectrecognition techniques on digital images of the emergency scene acquiredby the drone immediately or soon after liftoff) in a pre-generated orother flight path of the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone fromcomputer analysis of the drone data initially collected at the crashscene; and/or automatically adjust the flight path of the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone at the crash scene to avoid the one or moreobstacles detected via computer analysis of the recently gathered dronedata (such as by directing the drone to fly around a tree or shrubs at adistance of 2 or more meters).

In another aspect, a computer system for collecting autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposes may beprovided. The computer system may include one or more processors ortransceivers configured to: (1) determine (such as via a GPS receiver orunit) or receive a crash GPS location associated with aninsurance-related event; (2) generate a pre-generated flight path for anautonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPS location,including a length and/or width of the crash scene, or a radius aroundthe crash GPS location, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone beingmounted, or held securely in place, on an emergency response vehicletraveling to the crash location; (3) upload the pre-generated flightpath to the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, or memory unit thereof(or generate the flight path directly via a drone-mounted controller orprocessor after the GPS location of the crash or emergency is determinedby the drone-mounted GPS unit, or received via a drone-mountedtransceiver); and/or (4) once the emergency response vehicle arrives atthe crash scene, autonomously or semi-autonomously flying under thedirection and control of the one or more processors the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone in accordance with the pre-generated flight pathat the crash location to collect drone data associated with the crash tofacilitate using the drone data for insurance-related activity.

The computer system may be configured to collect crash scene or dronedata, via one or more autonomous or semi-autonomous drone or otherprocessors, while the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone is flying, orotherwise operating via, the pre-generated flight path. The computersystem may be configured to receive the crash scene or drone datatransmitted from the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone; and store thecrash scene or drone data in a memory unit for subsequent analysis. Thecomputer system may be configured to analyze the crash scene or dronedata; determine an extent of vehicle or building damage caused by theinsurance-related event from computer analysis of the crash scene ordrone data; and/or use the extent of vehicle or building damagedetermined from computer analysis of the crash scene or drone data tomitigate further damage and/or for further insurance-related purposes,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer system for collecting autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposes may beprovided. The computer system may include one or more processors ortransceivers mounted on an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone;determine (such as using a locally-mounted GPS unit, or even a remoteGPS unit) or receive a GPS crash location associated with aninsurance-related event; generate a pre-generated flight path for theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the GPS crash location,the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securelyin place, on an emergency response vehicle traveling to the crashlocation; and/or once the emergency response vehicle arrives at thecrash scene, autonomously or semi-autonomously fly, under the directionand control of the one or more processors mounted on the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone inaccordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash location tocollect drone data associated with the crash to facilitate using thedrone data for insurance-related activity. The computer system may beconfigured to: transmit the drone data from the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone to an emergency response vehicle, emergencyresponder mobile device, third party remote server, or insuranceprovider remote server to facilitate processing the drone data forinsurance-related purposes or activity.

The foregoing computer systems may include additional, less, oralternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

XIV. Additional Considerations

As will be appreciated based on the foregoing specification, theabove-described embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented usingcomputer programming or engineering techniques including computersoftware, firmware, hardware or any combination or subset thereof. Anysuch resulting program, having computer-readable code means, may beembodied or provided within one or more computer-readable media, therebymaking a computer program product, i.e., an article of manufacture,according to the discussed embodiments of the disclosure. Thecomputer-readable media may be, for example, but is not limited to, afixed (hard) drive, diskette, optical disk, magnetic tape, semiconductormemory such as read-only memory (ROM), and/or any transmitting/receivingmedium such as the Internet or other communication network or link. Thearticle of manufacture containing the computer code may be made and/orused by executing the code directly from one medium, by copying the codefrom one medium to another medium, or by transmitting the code over anetwork.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications, “apps”, or code) include machine instructions for aprogrammable processor, and can be implemented in a high-levelprocedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or inassembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms “machine-readablemedium” “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer programproduct, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks,memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machineinstructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including amachine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as amachine-readable signal. The “machine-readable medium” and“computer-readable medium,” however, do not include transitory signals.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

As used herein, a processor may include any programmable systemincluding systems using micro-controllers, reduced instruction setcircuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logiccircuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing thefunctions described herein. The above examples are example only, and arethus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning ofthe term “processor.”

As used herein, the terms “software” and “firmware” are interchangeable,and include any computer program stored in memory for execution by aprocessor, including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROMmemory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory. The above memory types areexample only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memory usablefor storage of a computer program.

In one embodiment, a computer program is provided, and the program isembodied on a computer readable medium. In an example embodiment, thesystem is executed on a single computer system, without requiring aconnection to a sever computer. In a further embodiment, the system isbeing run in a Windows® environment (Windows is a registered trademarkof Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.). In yet another embodiment,the system is run on a mainframe environment and a UNIX® serverenvironment (UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limitedlocated in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom). The application isflexible and designed to run in various different environments withoutcompromising any major functionality. In some embodiments, the systemincludes multiple components distributed among a plurality of computingdevices. One or more components may be in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium.The systems and processes are not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein. In addition, components of each system and eachprocess can be practiced independent and separate from other componentsand processes described herein. Each component and process can also beused in combination with other assembly packages and processes.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralelements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited.Furthermore, references to “example embodiment” or “one embodiment” ofthe present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excludingthe existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate therecited features.

This written description uses examples to disclose the disclosure,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devicesor systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scopeof the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples areintended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structuralelements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, orif they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantialdifferences from the literal language of the claims.

We claim:
 1. A computer-implemented method of collecting autonomous,semi-autonomous, and/or other drone data for insurance-related purposes,the method comprising: determining or receiving, via one or moreprocessors, a crash GPS location associated with a crash location of acrash scene, the crash GPS location associated with an insurance-relatedevent occurring at the crash scene; generating, at the one or moreprocessors, a pre-generated flight path for an autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone based upon the crash GPS location, the autonomousor semi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely in place, on anemergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location; once theemergency response vehicle arrives at the crash scene, autonomously orsemi-autonomously flying the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone inaccordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash GPS locationto generate or collect drone data associated with the crash scene;determining, via the one or more processors, an extent of vehicle orbuilding damage caused by the insurance-related event from computeranalysis of the drone data collected while the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone is flying the pre-generated flight path; andusing, via the one or more processors, the extent of vehicle or buildingdamage determined from computer analysis of the drone data to facilitatemitigating further damage or for further insurance-related purposes. 2.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the method comprising: usingor otherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the extent ofvehicle or building damage determined from computer analysis of thedrone data to handle, adjust, and/or generate an insurance claim for aninsured.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the methodcomprising: using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or moreprocessors, the extent of vehicle or building damage determined fromcomputer analysis of the drone data to request additional emergencyresponders promptly respond to the crash scene via wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, the method comprising: using or otherwise analyzing,via the one or more processors, the extent of vehicle or building damagedetermined from computer analysis of the drone data to estimate a repairor replacement cost of vehicle or building damage, or makerecommendations to an insured to facilitate promptly repairing thevehicle or building damage.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim1, the method comprising: using or otherwise analyzing, via the one ormore processors, the drone data to identify potential buildup orotherwise adjust insurance claims upward or downward.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, the method comprising: using orotherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the drone data tovirtually reconstruct the crash scene or assign partial or whole faultfor the crash at the crash scene to one or more participants orvehicles, or weather or construction conditions.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, the method comprising:determining, via one or more local or remote processors, (a) theemergency response vehicle has arrived at, or within a vicinity of thecrash location, or (b) has stopped moving or is otherwise parked; oncethe emergency response vehicle is at the crash location, via the one ormore local or remote processors, automatically releasing or otherwiseopening one or more vehicle-mounted latches holding the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone in place on the emergency response vehicle; anddirecting, via the one or more local or remote processors, theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone to liftoff and fly around the crashlocation and collect crash scene data that may be used for theinsurance-related purposes.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim7, the method comprising: once the autonomous or semi-autonomous droneis airborne at the crash scene, determining, via the one or more localor remote processors, one or more obstacles in a pre-generated or otherflight path of the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone from computeranalysis of the drone data initially collected at the crash scene; andautomatically adjusting, via the one or more local or remote processors,the generated or other flight path of the autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone at the crash scene to avoid the one or more obstacles detected viacomputer analysis of the recently gathered drone data.
 9. Acomputer-implemented method of collecting autonomous, semi-autonomousand/or other drone data for insurance-related purposes, the methodcomprising: determining or receiving, via one or more processors, acrash GPS location associated with a crash location of a crash scene,the crash GPS location associated with an insurance-related eventoccurring at the crash scene; generating, at the one or more processors,a pre-generated flight path for an autonomous or semi-autonomous dronebased upon the crash GPS location, including a length and/or width ofthe crash scene, or a radius around the crash GPS location, theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securely inplace, on an emergency response vehicle traveling to the crash location;and once the emergency response vehicle arrives at the crash scene,autonomously or semi-autonomously flying, under the direction andcontrol of the one or more processors, the autonomous or semi-autonomousdrone in accordance with the pre-generated flight path at the crash GPSlocation to collect drone data associated with the crash scene tofacilitate using the drone data for insurance-related activity.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, the method comprising:collecting the crash scene or the drone data, via one or more autonomousor semi-autonomous drones or other processors, while the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone is flying, otherwise operating via, thepre-generated flight path.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim9, the method comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, thedrone data transmitted from the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone; andstoring, via the one or more processors, the drone data in a memory unitfor subsequent analysis.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9,the method comprising: analyzing, via the one or more processors, thedrone data; determining, via the one or more processors, an extent ofvehicle or building damage caused by the insurance-related event fromcomputer analysis of the drone data; and using, via the one or moreprocessors, the extent of vehicle or building damage determined fromcomputer analysis of the drone data to mitigate further damage and/orfor further insurance-related purposes.
 13. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, wherein the insurance-related activity comprises:using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the dronedata to handle, adjust, and/or generate an insurance claim for aninsured.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein theinsurance-related activity comprises: using or otherwise analyzing, viathe one or more processors, the drone data to request additionalemergency responders promptly respond to the crash scene via wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission.
 15. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, wherein the insurance-related activity comprises:using or otherwise analyzing, via the one or more processors, the dronedata to estimate an amount of vehicle or building damage, or makerecommendations to an insured to facilitate promptly repairing thevehicle or building damage.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim9, wherein the insurance-related activity comprises: using or otherwiseanalyzing, via the one or more processors, the drone data to identifypotential buildup or otherwise adjust insurance claims upward ordownward.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein theinsurance-related activity comprises: using or otherwise analyzing, viathe one or more processors, the drone data to virtually reconstructevents before, during, and/or after the crash at the crash scene, andassign partial or whole fault for the crash to one or more participantsor autonomous vehicles.
 18. A computer-implemented method of collectingautonomous or semi-autonomous drone data for insurance-related purposes,the method comprising: determining or receiving, via one or moreprocessors mounted on an autonomous or semi-autonomous drone, a GPScrash location associated with an insurance-related event occurring at acrash scene; generating, at the one or more processors mounted on theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone, a pre-generated flight path for theautonomous or semi-autonomous drone based upon the GPS crash location,the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone being mounted, or held securelyin place, on an emergency response vehicle traveling to the GPS crashlocation; and once the emergency response vehicle arrives at the crashscene, autonomously or semi-autonomously flying, under the direction andcontrol of the one or more processors mounted on the autonomous orsemi-autonomous drone, the autonomous or semi-autonomous drone inaccordance with the pre-generated flight path at the GPS crash locationto collect drone data associated with the crash scene to facilitateusing the drone data for insurance-related activity.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, the method comprisingtransmitting the drone data from the autonomous or semi-autonomous droneto the emergency response vehicle, an emergency responder mobile device,a third party remote server, or an insurance provider remote server tofacilitate processing the drone data for the insurance-related purposesor activity.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, whereinthe insurance-related activity comprises: using or otherwise analyzing,via the one or more processors, the drone data to handle, adjust, and/orgenerate an insurance claim for an insured.